Syrian Oil Minister: Sanctions Telling, Save Fuel

Syrian Oil Minister Sufian Allawi said, Thursday, that sanctions against the country's oil industry had dealt a four-million-dollar blow to the economy, stressing that they had led to a fuel shortage. He called on Syrians to conserve gasoline and use alternative fuel sources.

Meanwhile investigators from the United Nations reported to the UN Human Rights Council that government and opposition forces continue to committ serious violations of human rights in a conflict that is becoming more military in spite of the six-week-old cease-fire deadline. The investigators said the government forces are to blame for most of the violations, including heavy shelling and executions in areas where they think rebels are hiding. The rebels were accused of torturing and kidnapping supporters of the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad to use as bargaining chips for the release of rebels held by the Damascus government.